Biden's pivot on US oil production draws ire from progressives, climate advocates
Environmentalists accuse Biden of backpedaling on climate change promises
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President Biden's plan to ramp up liquefied natural gas shipments to Europe to help the continent ween itself off Russian energy won applause from the oil and gas industry, but risks drawing the ire of progressives who want the White House to focus on combating climate change.
The Biden administration announced last week that it will work with international partners to supply at least 15 billion cubic meters of extra LNG supplies to Europe this year. Members of the European voting bloc also committed to receiving 50 billion cubic meters of American fuel until at least 2030 – part of a broader plan to reduce their reliance on Russia, which accounted for 40% of gas shipments last year.
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"We’re coming together to reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian energy," Biden said during a joint press conference with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
But environmental activists and progressives have accused Biden of backpedaling on his campaign promises to "confront the existential threat of climate change."
Oil futures rose on Tuesday morning, following a volatile start to the week, as the market weighed a coordinated international release of crude inventories against Russian supply disruptions in the wake of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Peggy Shepard, a co-founder and executive director at We Act for Environmental Justice, said it was time for the White House to move away from fossil fuels – including halting LNG exports and infrastructure expansion. She said that soaring oil and gasoline prices only prove that the U.S. needs to focus on green energy initiatives.
"Building even more LNG export terminals would lock in fossil fuel infrastructure and pollution for decades to come," Shepard said.
Although Biden previously called for transitioning away from fossil fuels – including eliminating greenhouse gases from power plants by 2035 – he has fully embraced fossil-fuel expansion in an effort to punish Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine one month ago.
White House national climate adviser Gina McCarthy has acknowledged that Europe’s current energy needs have taken precedence over climate goals in the short term. Asked by Bloomberg how the White House was balancing the two, she said: "We’re actually not balancing right now."
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks on the economy in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2021. (Oliver Contreras/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
"Right now, we’re working on an emergency problem that the EU and we have on energy prices and security," McCarthy said on the sidelines of a renewable energy summit in Washington, per Bloomberg. "But our goals remain the same – and that’s clean energy."
Still, the White House has maintained that the new LNG import terminals and pipelines will be constructed with greenhouse gas emissions reductions in mind, including relying on clean energy to power operations, reducing methane leakage and building "clean and renewable hydrogen-ready infrastructure."
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Activists say the president needs to go further and follow through on his campaign pledges.
"President Biden campaigned on bold and ambitious goals to tackle the climate crisis and environmental injustice," Kelly Sheehan, the Sierra Club’s director of energy campaigns, told Bloomberg News. "Supporting the push to expand gas exports and lock in decades of fossil fuel production is directly in conflict with these goals."